2022 Toyota Corolla Cross Second Drive Review: What's in a Name?

The 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross is both the most and least surprising vehicle I’ve driven all year.

The not-surprising bit: Toyota has built what you see here to take on the sub-compact crossover class. It’s the fastest-growing segment in the industry, and whatever you might think of the little C-HR, it hasn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire like the RAV4. The surprising part? The company called this thing a Corolla.

Toyota has taken the world’s best-selling car nameplate and remixed it for the YouTube generation, at least according to the company’s marketing. You don’t sell 50 million of anything without building a reputation of trustworthiness and quality, and the Japanese automaker is banking on buyers seeing those same qualities in this new soft-roader.

Almost exactly two months ago, contributor Gabe Ets-Hokin drove the Cross in Austin. He liked it, but also found it confusing. When the opportunity came for me to get some seat time in pretty Gatineau, Quebec, I had to see for myself. Like Gabe, I came away perplexed about some aspects of this cute-ute. No question about it, though: what you see really is a Corolla—just not as we know it.

This whole car—well, for us North Americans, anyway. The Corolla Cross first debuted in other markets before showing up here for the 2022 model year. In that time, Toyota has tweaked the recipe to align it more closely with North American tastes. No changes to the size, though: the CC still slots in between the smaller C-HR and larger RAV4, riding on the same TNGA platform as both. It’s also the platform you’ll find under the Corolla.

Other similarities: the 2.0-liter engine, which is found under the hood of most current Corollas. It’s the only option for the bigger, heftier Cross, hooked up to the company’s own continuously variable transmission. The struts-up-front, multi-link-out-back suspension layout is the same, too. Only if you pick the all-wheel-drive model, though; like the similarly-sized Volkswagen Taos, the Corolla Cross sticks to a simpler torsion beam rear in front-drive form.

And there are those looks. Despite the name, there isn’t much particular Corolla-like about this 175.6-inch-long (4,460 mm) rig. That’s not to say it’s not a handsome, if anonymous, shape; the proportions are sound, and the slashes above the fenders give it some much-needed visual tension. The RAV4-like grille is the clearest connection to the Toyota family. Throw on the requisite plastic cladding, paint the rest of the body in a great shade of green, and the Cross certainly looks more prepared for the cottage trail than any Corolla that’s come before.

There’s much more Corolla influence inside the Cross. In fact, it’s about 90-percent the same. The clean dashboard design is pleasant, and all the major controls are grouped together right in the center. It takes more time to recite a phone number than it does to get a feel for where everything is inside the Corolla Cross.

Toyota has rejigged the foremost portion of the center console for better storage and easier access to the heated seat controls. That’s all well and good, but it highlights some of the harder plastics you’ll find within the car. Same goes with the rear door armrests. The front doors adopt grippy, RAV4-like grab handles, which is a nice upgrade.

The front seats may look the same as the Corolla’s, but under the skin they’re slightly different, to account for the more upright driving position. The front seat is plenty comfortable for my day of driving. The cushion is flat, so there isn’t much support if you’re tossing the Cross at every corner … but that’s not the point of it.

Front head and leg room are 39.5 and 42.9 inches (1,003 and 1,090 mm), respectively. The moonroof shaves just about an inch off the former. The rear figures are adult-friendly 39.1 and 32.0 inches (993 and 813 mm). Surprisingly, that’s all only around an inch more than the C-HR in any direction, and the littler Toyota even has the Cross beat on front legroom (43.46 inches / 1,104 mm). The flatter windowline helps the Corolla Cross feel more spacious, however. Plus, the bigger footprint affords it a healthy 26.5 cubic feet (750 L) of tailgate space in front-drive form (25.2 / 714 L for AWD models).

Basic Corolla Cross L models make do with a 7.0-inch touchscreen running Toyota’s ancient Entune system. LE and XLE trims adopt an 8.0-inch screen. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration are all standard. I figure the excellent new system found in the 2022 Tundra and Lexus NX 450 was just too cost-prohibitive. Product education man Philippe Crowe tells me it’s also the reality of project lead times: the Corolla Cross was too far along to integrate the very different system. No matter: while Entune is far from the prettiest system out there, its learning curve is flatter than the province of Saskatchewan.

The green car you see here was the top XLE trim, which adds a few other niceties to the mix. A larger 7.0-inch digital instrument panel display sits between the analog dials, up from the standard 4.2 inches. There’s also an uprated JBL sound system, and 10-way power adjustable driver seat (4-way in Canada). You won’t find a head-up display or fully digital instrument panel here though, unlike in others in the class.

Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 is standard across the CC board, bundling together automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, lane departure alert, auto high beams, road sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control. LE models pick up blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and the XLE adds parking assist with auto-braking capability on top.

The Corolla Cross largely drives the way it looks: like a shrunken down, gas-only RAV4.

In many ways, that’s good. The steering is typical TNGA light, but consistent in its weight and responses. The Corolla Cross is a tidy shape with clear sightlines, so it’s easy to place on the road. Ride quality in the XLE naturally leans more towards comfort than sport, and while there’s a fair amount of body lean, the Cross never feels sloppy. Again, it feels like a Corolla, just with a higher vantage point.

The front-drive LE I also drove was less composed through the winding roads outside Gatineau. Road imperfections would put the torsion-beam rear axle out of synch with the front, like the audio de-syncing from a streaming movie. Normally I’d recommend sticking to front-drive if you’re in a snow-light clime, but with the Corolla Cross, the AWD option also means better ride quality.

The 2.0-liter engine is … fine. With its peak 151 lb-ft not arriving until 4,400 rpm, not to mention 169 horsepower way up at 6,600 rpm, the four-pot gets the job done and no more.The XLE AWD adds a few extra hundred pounds to the equation versus the Corolla sedan, dulling acceleration, especially on any inclines. Helping eke out every bit of power is Toyota’s clever CVT, with a physical first gear to make starts more assertive.

My problem is this engine being the only option. Luckily it doesn’t sound like that will be the case for long: Toyota Canada reminded the media on multiple occasions that a hybrid model will be coming. Hopefully it follows the RAV4’s lead and slots in above the gas-only model, both in drivetrain power and fuel economy. Speaking of the latter, Toyota quotes 31 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined for front-drive models (7.6, 7.0, and 7.3 L/100 km, respectively). Switching to AWD shifts the figures to 29/32/30 mpg (8.1/7.4/7.8 L/100 km).

Toyota appears to have built the Corolla Cross to target the exact middle of the burgeoning sub-compact scene. It’s not the most fun to drive (that’d be the Mazda CX-30), the most spacious (Kia Seltos), or premium-feeling (CX-30 again, or VW Taos). Want a little more off-road robustness? Subaru Crosstrek. Okay, a lot more? Ford Bronco Sport.

That mid-pack placement extends to the pricing. A basic Corolla Cross L will set buyers back $23,410 ($26,750 CAD), including destination. Adding AWD is an extra $1,300 ($1,400 CAD). At the opposite end of the spectrum is the XLE. With AWD, plus the moonroof JBL audio—standard in Canada—the XLE rings in at $32,170 ($35,850 CAD). What begins as a quite affordable little package quickly grows pricey, costing more than all the afore-mentioned competition except the VW and Ford.

The real question shares showroom space: what about a RAV4 XLE AWD? More power, more space, and just as well-equipped. It’s only slightly more cash in the US ($33,440), but much more in Canada ($38,950 CAD). Or, you could forego some of the options and snap up an XLE hybrid—if you can stand the wait.

The 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross is a calculated gap-filler. Toyota struck gold with the current RAV4, but the C-HR was always just a little too weird to duplicate that success a class down. This little trucklet fixes that, and uses a name long associated with reliable, hassle-free motoring to drive that point home.

This is a safe, well-equipped sub-compact crossover. What it lacks is a unique selling proposition in a field of talented competition—something the hybrid model will fix. That also makes its top trims feel too expensive, especially in comparison to other Toyotas. But stick to a mid-grade model, and the Corolla Cross has no major weak points, which should find it lots of buyers shopping for a little SUV, or looking for a change from the sedan.

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